The Nation Newspaper

Category: Travels on Saturday

  • Airlift of Christian pilgrims starts October 22

    The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy,has dsiclosed that the 2012 airlift of pilgrims to Israel will commence on October 22.

    Kennedy made this disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian ambassador to Israel, Mr. David Obasa.

    He explained that their visit was in tandem with the calendar of activities of the commission as approved by President Goodluck Jonathan. According to him: “we are here to sign an agreement with the Ground Handlers and the Israeli authorities for the 2012 pilgrimage.”

    He affirmed that the airlift of 2012 pilgrimage would commence on October 25.

    He explained that in April this year during pre-visit, the commission interviewed and screened the ground handlers and 10 were successful.

    He commended the ambassador for the love he always shows each time members of the commission visit Israel on pilgrimage matters.

    The chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Archbishop Nichola D. Okoh, led members of the NCPC Board to the Nigerian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel on a courtesy visit to the ambassador, His Excellency Obasa, during the evaluation of the State of Readiness for the 2012 Christian pilgrimage exercise.

    The chairman thanked the ambassador for all his efforts and support to the commission, especially to the Nigerian pilgrims.

    He appealed to him and his team to help the commission so that they would be able to finish well, stressing that the final lap of any race is usually very important.

    He explained that this year is very important for his board in the sense that if well-handled, they could likely receive applause. Consequently, he said” it is very important that we do it well.”

    The chairman further commended the ambassador for his spirituality, his organizational ability and the promptness with which he attends to issues.

    In the words of the chairman, “we are grateful to you for your assistance so far; we ask for more”.

    In his remarks,the Nigerian ambassador to Israel, His Excellency Obasa commiserated with the chairman of the NCPC, who is also the Primate of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, on the demise of his dear mother who passed on to glory recently.

    His Excellency stressed the fact that changing a winning team is not usually the best, thus he prayed that at the expiration of the first tenure of NCPC board, they would be re -confirmed for a second term.

  • Adams decries neglect of Yoruba language

    Adams decries neglect of Yoruba language

    The National Co-ordinator of the O’odua People’s Congress (OPC) and Chief Promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation, Otunba Gani Adams, has once again decried the decline in the usage of the Yoruba   language. He made this observation at the grand finale of the Osun Osogbo festival recently held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
    The OPC leader spoke at the group’s celebration ground after visiting the Osun Osogbo Grove as part of the group’s annual tradition during the festival.
      He said it was acceptable to say culture holds the streams of all moral values and language is one of  the values that culture holds. According to him, he was worried  that as a language becomes weak and unused, the ideas, philosophy of the culture of that language disappears.
    He said: “A language transmits the ideology of a culture. Osun Osogbo, as an expression,for instance, cannot be given an exact interpretation in any other language  because it is an ideology that intrinsically belongs to the Yoruba culture.”
    The OPC leader also identified the problems facing the Yoruba language as the “the unfortunate influence of other foreign languages acceptable as the media of instruction in schools and of social interaction among elite. It is very hard to see a home in Yorubaland that is not encouraging speaking of foreign languages, especially English, among their children.”
    He said many Yoruba parents  now measure fluency in the English language as a yardstick for measuring intelligence. He said the Yoruba language and other adopted languages like English could be used side by side without damaging one for the other.
     Adams said by allowing the Yoruba language to die, the values and ideologies that the Yoruba people need to nurture their existence as descendants of Oduduwa will die as well.
    He said the Yoruba people should see the language as an important aspect of their lives and every thing should be done to keep it alive.
    The OPC Osun Osogbo festival also witness songs and dances and other creativer cultural expressions. On the band stand was a popular Yoruba musician, St. Janet who played her hearts out to the appreciaition and admiration of the OPC members and their guests.
  • Lekki: The making of tourism zone

    Lekki: The making of tourism zone

    Lagos State, with more  than 180 kilometers of lush white sandy beachfront, myriads of islands some inhabited  and others lying fallow, probably boasts of the highest tourism credential in West Africa. Hitherto, not much has been done in the area of maximally harnessing these gifts of nature and turning them into real value-for-money tourism assets that could lure tourist traffic from far and near.
    One council development area has, however, decided to take the gauntlet  and use tourism as a tool for socio-economic transformation, and, in the process, put the area on the tourism map of Africa. The place is the Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA). Before, to the knowledgeable, the LCDA, with its tourism asset, was just a huge waste of God’s gift.
    Lekki’s foray into tourism goes back more than 100 years.The colonialist saw the potential of the zone as a tourism haven. That was why they decided to build a chalet where they could go and unwind and generally have a qualitative leisure time. That gave birth to the place that was later made more famous  as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s detention camp in the 60s.
    Aside the centre, there was no major high profile tourism project by the government  until in the 90s when the then military governor of the  state, Colonel Buba Marwa, developed the Eko Tourist Beach Resort, Akodo in Lekki. A private sector initiative was also put in place by Otunba Wanle Akinboboye  when he opened the luxurious La Campagne Beach Resort, Ikegun in the early 90s.
    Currently, it is as if the scale has been removed and everybody can now see that this part of the state is a tourism gold mine. A free trade zone will soon be operational. There is also a 27-hole golf course being built. For the Lekki area, the future is looking bright.
    One would then ask: What in the area of natural tourism asset does the Lekki area have to offer? It is mind-bungling. It has history.  Scattered on the beachfront of the area is the slave baraccon used during the slave trade, the Refugee Island, the Freedom Flag, the Awo Detention Centre, some colonial relics at Orimedu and many others. Of course, there is the close to 30 kilometres of white sandy beach, including the famous Eleko Beach. The council also boasts of about 16 lakes plus the lagoon areas and smaller islands.
    It is in the light of this that the  LCDA chair, Barrister Mukandaisi Ogidan, decided to turn the area into a tourism  zone. He is the first LCDA chair in Nigeria to do so. It is history and this is also to his credit as an administrator.
    Asked why the declaration of the area as a tourism zone, Ogidan said with the declaration, the council will welcome investors in the area of tourism and will be given all the necessarily co-operation to put projects in place and  have returns on their  investments.
    On hand as the special guest of honour at the declaration ceremony was the president of the World Council of Mayors from the United States of America who came with his entourage, Mr. James Walls. Others were  a former commissioner in Lagos State, Dr  Tola Kasali; World Council of  Mayors Tourism Ambassador to Nigeria, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye; traditional rulers from the council and other notable individuals.
    In his speech, Ogidan said he envisaged the ceremony as a catalyst for  the transformation of the area. His words:“We  see this kind of transformation as the only way we can bring  about the economic potential of this local government development area. Just like Awo said in the 60s that this place would be the best in terms of development.
    “Thank God, this is coming true while we are still here and while our former leaders are still present. We have seen our brother, Mayor James Walls. Their coming here today is good. It is also to secure  the assurance that when they come here to invest, you will be prepared. We will give them every co-operation required for the transformation of  the  LCDA.”
    The President of the World Council of Mayors spoke on why he decided to be part of the history.
     His words: “It is truly an honour to be here for the declaration of the Lekki Tourism Zone. Ambassador Wanle Akinboboye called me on the phone and said Mayor, I need you to be in Nigeria next week. And I said to the ambassador, are you crazy? I am in the middle of an election, trying to re-elect our president, Barack Obama, and you want me to stop what I am doing and travel to Nigeria, and the ambassador said yes, and I replied okay.
    “And before you know it, I am here in Nigeria. I came to Nigeria because this is something very  important. Prior to becoming the president of the World Council of Mayors, I served as the vice president for tourism and asAmbassador Akinboboye told you, my first experience of the motherland was right here in Nigeria and right here in Lekki. Since 2008, I have had the opportunity to visit the motherland and here in Nigeria over 30 times.
    “So, when you talk about tourism, it is very important because men and women and brothers and sisters of African descent need to reconnect with the motherland. I believe it  is through projects like this that will give African-Americans, Africans in  Europe and others an opportunity  not only  to come back and reconnect but come back and reinvest in mother Africa. So, today, this tourism zone is an opportunity for Africans to come back and re-establish their ground and reinvest in our community and I will leave you with this: This is our day, truly it is. This is our hour, and, as Africans, we shall make sure we do not miss our time.”
    Dr Kasali went down  the memory lane to talk of the efforts of the leaders of the area to open up the place in the past.
     “When you talk about the economy of an area, you talk about commerce, industry and tourism. We thank God we now have the Lekki Free Trade Zone in this area. At the beginning of this free trade zone, it was like a tug of war because we needed enlightenment and a lot of talking to let our people know that this is the future that we have been talking about.
    “Once we have the free trade zone, we are opening the place  for commerce and industry and then when we have the tourism project, then we are opening up the place for the whole world. I believe and I am so passionate about it, that we haven’t seen anything yet,”Dr Kasali said.
    Otunba Akinboboye, who is also the owner of the La Campagne Beach Resort, said the status of the council is a welcomed development and promised to work with the council to develop the area.
    Lekki is about an hour drive from the city of  Lagos, off the Lagos-Epe Expressway on the right.
  • Bayelsa to turn Glory Castle to hotel

    Bayelsa to turn Glory Castle to hotel

    The Bayelsa State government has decided to  convert the multi-billion  naira edifice,  Glory Castle, to a six-star hotel as it also expressed its wish to bring back the hitherto much criticized African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) ceremony to the state.
    The idea of the castle, which is currently used as a lodge, was initiated and built by the administration of Governor D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, but subsequent administrations, including those of Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Timipre Sylva completed the edifice which   is of international standard and could accommodate many top government officials, including governors and presidents at the same time.
    Governor Dickson’s move to convert it to a six-star hotel is aimed at further boosting the tourism potential in the state, it was learnt.
    Considering its magnificent nature, it will be the first of its kind in the country when completed.
    Criticisms had trailed the birth of the multi-billion naira edifice because it has nothing to do with the common man in the state as it was seen as a waste of resources.
    Governor Dickson, who dropped the hint of converting the building to a hotel when he hosted some Nollywood stars who were in the state for a symposium on the prospects of indigenous films in Nigeria to a state dinner, also mentioned of the state government’s desire to build a film village as part of government’s drive to project the state’s vast potential to the outside world.
    Governor Dickson also expressed his administration’s intention to collaborate with the  AMAA to actualize the project to enable the academy hold its activities annually in the state.
    It would be recalled that the award ceremony attracted a plethora of criticisms, following the huge sum of money expended on it without corresponding positive effect on the state.
  • Africa records seven per cent tourism growth

    Africa records seven per cent tourism growth

    International arrivals were up in all regions between January and June 2012. Asia and the Pacific (+8per cent) led growth by region, boosted by the recovery of Japanese inbound and outbound tourism as well as by the continued strong performance of other major source markets throughout the region. Destinations in South Asia and South-East Asia (both +9 per cent) showed some of the best results worldwide.
    “Although Asia was affected by the economic crisis of 2008-2009 due to its strong linkages with other economies, the region has bounced back quickly and is today a leader in the global economy. This is clearly reflected in its tourism figures,” said Mr. Rifai.
    Europe (+4 per cent), the most visited destination in the world, consolidated its record growth of 2011, despite continuing economic volatility in the Eurozone. Results were above the regional average in Central and Eastern Europe (+7 per cent) where many destinations saw double-digit growth, as well as in Western Europe (+5 per cent). By contrast, demand in Southern and Mediterranean Europe (+1 per cent) slowed down, but on top of a very strong 2011 and partly due to the recovery of destinations in North Africa and the Middle East.
    The Americas (+5 per cent) grew in line with the world average, with Central America (+7 per cent) and South America (+6 per cent) recording the strongest results. In fact, South America has been one of the sub-regions with the fastest tourism growth of recent years. Destinations in North America grew at 4 per cent, a relatively high rate for a mature sub-region, while growth in the Caribbean (+5 per cnt) remained buoyant, consolidating 2011 results.
    In Africa (+7 per cent), the return of tourist flows to Tunisia is reflected in the results of North Africa (+11per cent). Likewise, the rebound of Egypt is clearly mirrored in the results of the Middle-East (+0.7 per cent). Destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa (+6 percent) continued to show strong results, following the good growth rates of this sub-region in previous years.
  • NCPC chair charges air carriers on service delivery

    NCPC chair charges air carriers on service delivery

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Archbishop Nicholas .D. Okoh, has charged Air Carriers for the 2012 Christian pilgrimage to ensure they deliver on their services.
     The Chairman gave this charge recently in Abuja at the signing of Air  Carriers Agreement by NCPC and the two selected air  carriers that would airlift Nigerian pilgrims to Israel, Rome and Greece this year.
    The Chairman, who described the signing of the Air Carriers Agreement as a very major process in getting this year’s  pilgrimage actualized, tasked the two selected air carriers on quality of aircraft. He stressed that the competence of operators should not be undermined. The Chairman who was very passionate about the quality of the aircraft  that would airlift Nigerian pilgrims this year in view of the recent untoward happenings in the Nigerian aviation sector.
     “Mr President has said that you should ensure you have  new aircraft. We will not like to manage an aircraft,” he said.
     He further stated that the commission was also interested in the age of the aircraft they   intend to use in flying Nigerian pilgrims to the holy land this year.
    The NCPC Chairman, who is also the Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, further charged the air carriers on quality of service, especially in Nigeria with their  staff.
     His words, “We expect courtesy. We expect that you will not have problem of route mapping”.
    In his own remarks, the Executive Secretary of NCPC, Mr John Kennedy Opara, stressed that even after the signing of the Air Carrier Agreement and any of the air carriers failed to abide by the terms and conditions of the agreement, that the commission would not hesitate to invalidate the agreement. However, he appealed to the air carriers to ensure they keep to the terms of agreement.
    The NCPC  scribe affirmed that the commission would provide the enabling environment for the air carriers to operate successfully without hitches, while assuring them that NCPC would also provide   the pilgrims for them to airlift.